Caucuses are precinct-level gatherings of voters that take place across Colorado. In 2018, the Republican caucuses will take place on Tuesday, March 6, at 7 pm.

What happens at the caucus?

Caucus-goers elect delegates and alternates to various assemblies. These can include county, state house, state senate, county ommission, state, congressional, and judicial assemblies. In some counties, caucus-goers elect delegates and alternates only to the county ssembly, and those delegates, in turn, elect delegates to the higher assemblies; in other counties, delegates to the higher assemblies are elected provisionally at the caucus and ratified at the county assembly. Read more …

Newt Gingrich: Here’s my strategy for keeping a House Republican majority in November

On Wednesday, I was honored to speak at the Winter Meeting of the Republican National Committee about the how important and impactful the 2018 elections could be for America. Below is an excerpt of my remarks.

Let me thank all of you, particularly those I was just chatting with, for your generosity. I have been active in the Republican Party a fairly long time, longer than the younger people here have been alive. And I want to talk to you from the heart. When Ronna and I talked about coming by, I think it was precisely because I had enough distance to look at these things and to be involved on a number of occasions.

First of all, I thought last night’s State of the Union rivaled anything that Ronald Reagan did. It was just astonishingly effective. President Trump found specific individuals whose stories weren’t just important as wonderful human stories, but they each illustrated a part of the American tapestry in the American culture in a way that reminded all of us America is such a wonderful country. I thought it was a very powerful and very effective speech. Read more …

States Look at Establishing Their Own Health Insurance Mandates

An ambulance is seen in front of University Hospital in Newark, N.J. New Jersey is one of at least nine states that are considering a health-insurance requirement for its residents, after Congress repealed the so-called individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act.PHOTO: KENA BETANCUR/GETTY IMAGES

By

Stephanie Armour

Feb. 3, 2018 7:00 a.m. ET

At least nine states are considering their own versions of a requirement that residents must have health insurance, a move that could accelerate a divide between Democratic states trying to shore up the Affordable Care Act and Republican states intent on tearing it down.

Congressional Republicans in December repealed the so-called individual mandate, a pillar of the ACA, as part of their tax overhaul. That cheered conservatives who say people shouldn’t be forced to buy insurance, but it has now energized liberals who say a mandate is needed to ensure coverage and keep premiums low.

Maryland lawmakers are pursuing a plan to replace the ACA mandate, which requires most people to pay a penalty if they don’t have coverage. California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia, are publicly considering similar ideas.

This push illustrates a shift in the health-care battle from Capitol Hill to the states, igniting a surge of activity that could redefine access and coverage for millions of consumers.

The ACA, also known also as Obamacare, sought to create a uniform minimum floor for health coverage. It established certain benefits that many health plans had to cover and barred insurers from charging higher premiums to people with pre-existing conditions.

Republicans in Congress failed to repeal the law overall, but in addition to erasing the individual mandate, the Trump administration has been using administrative actions to roll back the ACA’s requirements and give states more control.

That is creating a landscape in which blue states pursue initiatives to keep or expand the ACA, while red states take actions to defang the law and put a conservative stamp on health policy.

Coming years could see a growing gulf on issues such as Medicaid benefits, consumer protections, insurer regulations and the availability of cheaper, less-comprehensive health plans, health analysts say.

“We made great strides in 2017 defending TABOR and advancing policies that promote economic freedom,” Jesse Mallory, AFP’s state director and the former Colorado Senate Republicans’ chief of staff, said in a statement.

Not content just to say that Colorado transportation funding is their top priority, state Senate Republicans will introduce a bill on the opening day of the legislative session Wednesday that seeks bonding voter approval for as much as a $3.5 billion bond sale, Senate President Kevin Grantham said today.

Similar measures have died in the state Legislature for three years in a row, but the financial situation this year is very different.

Because of the improving economy and federal tax reform, Colorado is expected to bring in as much as $1 billion more in uncommitted funds between this current fiscal year and the fiscal year that begins on Jan. 1 — and Grantham said a significant portion of that money should be going toward the $9 billion backlog in transportation needs that the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) projects over the next 10 years.

Senate Majority Leader Chris Holbert, R-Parker, said today that he was grateful to the governor and his budget director, Henry Sobanet, for the request, but believes that the Legislature should put closer to $300 million toward roads next year and each year thereafter. That commitment of $300 million would allow for bonding of $3 billion to $3.5 billion, if Colorado voters were to approve the bond sale at the November ballot.

Legislative Republicans have talked generally about increasing the amount of transportation funding in the ballot, but today was the first time that Senate leaders offered specific details about their plans.

Colorado Housse Speaker Crisanta Duran listens to a briefing from economists, during a meeting of the Colorado Legislative Council on the state’s budget and economic outlook. (AP file photo/Brennan Linsley)

10. House Speaker Crisanta Duran, D-Denver
The state’s first Latina speaker has a galaxy of political opportunities ahead of her, locally or nationally. She is term-limited in the House after this session. She hasn’t decided yet what she’ll do next,. Meanwhile, she must earn her reputation as a leader this session with a House caucus divided over sexual harassment allegations and how to spend a budget surplus.

As the caucus date of Tuesday, March 6 draws closer, the Colorado Republican Party will distribute information about how to find your precinct location, what happens at the caucus, and how it interacts with the primary.

Today, we’re writing because, per state law, voters must be registered as Republicans by Monday, January 8 to participate in the caucus.

Don’t discover a problem too late! Take two minutes right now and make sure you’re registered as a Republican at your correct address by visitingwww.GoVoteColorado.com.

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